hey guys. this one goes out to you fellows who know more about computers than I do (it's been a few years for me, much of what I knew kinda faded away, but I'm still half-blind and stabbing in the dark) anyways, tell me what you think of this build up:

MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131022

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103741

and RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590

what do you think of those things? Would they work together? I'm not trying to build a dream machine here, I'm just trying to make something that'll be close-to-par for the next couple years, and be able to play most games sweat free (think stuff like, Sims2, ones like that) and be able to handle stuff like DOOM3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with the settings somewhere above a dead-fish minimum.

I haven't decided on a video card yet, I'm right as I'm typing this looking into some, but I want something that will handle hard stuff, yet be easy on the wallet (think 3-400 max)

Some input would be helpful, I know some of you could tell me if this MOBO/Proc/Memory combo would be a bad idea or not, so that's why I'm asking. Thanks

As of the past few weeks, everyone I know is raving about the new Core Duo systems, getting an Intel T6700 chip and going to town. $2k would get you a nice buildup. I can link you to a friend's recent build if it's of interest - if it's too expensive, please let me know your price range and I can do a better job of giving my 2 cents.

haha, 2 grand's a little too much (still gotta save some cash for my two trucks) I was thinking (just MOBO, Proc, memory, video card) of sticking under 8-900ish. Honestly though, do you think that setup I posted up there would work together?

Also, I was thinking of an nVidia card...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150199

edit: put it this way, if I could, I would LOVE to dump 2 grand on a nice build up. But I just simply can't, I'm living on a tight budget here, think high school kinda budget. lol

I hate Asus motherboards myself. I'm having a problem right now with a system a forum member left me with to build for him. The motherboard is an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe model and XP blue screens every time I try to install the driver for the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. Kickass sound card, but doesn't look like I'm going to be able to get it to work. Sad part is, this motherboard is over a year old now - they should have been able to iron out all the kinks in it!!

Do you already have a copy of XP or something to stick on the system?

Do you have any leftover parts from an old system you will transfer over to the new one (and if so, what)?

Answer these questions, I'll make some suggestions based on the latest bleeding edge crap that's come out in the past 2 months. A LOT of new stuff has come out Q4 of this year. Lots of new choices on the market - same as it ever was. buy some parts, they're obsolete within a month or two :)

Do you already have a copy of XP or something to stick on the system?

Do you have any leftover parts from an old system you will transfer over to the new one (and if so, what)?

Answer these questions, I'll make some suggestions based on the latest bleeding edge crap that's come out in the past 2 months. A LOT of new stuff has come out Q4 of this year. Lots of new choices on the market - same as it ever was. buy some parts, they're obsolete within a month or two :)

yep. I am using my old case, floppy/cd/dvd roms, sound card, networking card, etc etc, basically I am looking to rebuild the very core of the computer, the MOBO/Processor/Memory, Vid Card, Power Supply (315W ain't gunna cut her). I don't want to spend over a grand or so, and I'm open for suggestions if you think for less than a grand I can have a kinda powerful gaming machine

Shifty knows what he is talking about but let me throw my 2 cents in.

Ive had a Soyo board for about 4 years now with zero problems. The only other boards I can recommend from personal experience are Abit and Gigabyte...stay far away from ECS!

I have found it is usually less better to just buy a case WITH a new power supply. Unless you are just super attached to your case go ahead and buy something like an Aspire case with a 500 watt PS for about $95 thats got upwards of 5 fans and aluminum construction.

A new DVD burner like a LiteOn will only set you back around $45 if you dont already have one...or two.;)

I already have a DVD burner, was cheaper than that, too. ASUS DVD burner.

As for the motherboard, I've had this ASUS for years, and I've never had a problem with it. My bud who I think I'll have help me build the computer, also seems to have higher remarks for ASUS MOBOs. As for the case, I guess I could get a new one, didn't really think about that, I'll have to go look for one.

You still haven't clarified about whether you have a legit copy of XP or some other Windows flavor.

Windows ME and windows 98 are no longer supported by Microsoft, and they do not get security updates, so they are prone to getting hacked. To add to that, if you swap out the motherboard and processor on an XP system, you'll need to do a repair install (requires a key) or clean install to get things to kick up and run smoothly. You can always use the migration wizard to save your current files and settings to a portable hard drive, then import them again after doing a clean install....it's up to you. Just giving a forewarning.

Let me know about that.

Asus has really changed their product quality over the years in my opinion. I swore by MSI and Gigabyte till recently, had a really bad experience with both - especially Gigabyte. Read about that here:

http://myunreal.com/showthread.php?t=58660&highlight=gigabyte

Note the date on that too...I try to buy from manuf'ers I've been burned with and build rigs with them at least once a year. Haven't been burned with Gigabyte since, but got one add'l board that sucked from MSI. The rest have been peachy. Get at least one buggered up board from Asus per year. That is too high of a ratio for me, personally.

As for me, if I could buy any damned thing in the world right now, I would buy an eVGA board. These guys rock socks. I love all of their stuff, they're based right here in the USA and not only have very easy to install boards, but have some kickass warrantees to boot - like, buy a high-end video card from them and save the box - you can trade up within 6 months of purchase and get credited towards purchase of a new card, you just gotta pay shipping. By the time my 6 months was here, I did an even trade for the newest model of a more powerful card and paid $20 total for shipping, and that's it :) Would have cost me $400 brand new.

http://myunreal.com/showthread.php?t=76040

That is what my friend Wes is building for his buddy. Most all of that, if not everything, is being purchased at NewEgg. If I were you and I wanted new RAM/mobo/cpu, I would get:

Motherboard: eVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR NF680I 775 (Qty=1, Price=$249.99)
CPU: INTEL Core2 Duo (Conroe core) E6700 2.66GHz socket 775 (Qty=1, Price=$509.99)
RAM: 1 pack (2 sticks in pack) of Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4D (Qty=1, Price=$315.00)

Obviously, you will need a video card - this board supports running two cards at the same time (SLi). You will also obviously need a better (700W or larger) power supply and a new case would probably be nice as well. Get a new CPU heatsink and fan if you want to overclock (otherwise the stock one that comes with the CPU is fine).

Too expensive? Take $200 off by going with the 2.4GHz Conroe core Core 2 Duo instead. Still too much? Take another $80 off by bumping down to a 2.13GHz Conroe.

Basically, a boss ass gaming system would entail 2GB of RAM (XP won't use more than 2.6GB of RAM), a nice Core 2 Duo CPU or AMD 64-bit CPU, a nice motherboard that supports SLi, and one or (preferrably) two video cards that will support SLi - the 7900 through 8800 series PCI-express cards will do superb.

oh yeah, I guess I kinda forgot to mention XP. Of course I would have XP, not like I'm that far behind. As for that build up, that sounds like a hell of a build up, but just a little too out of my budget. I'd be willing to chunk out a grand, and I think I am going to get a new case w/ the PSU. I'm checking out eVGA right now, too. Sounds like they're a great deal, from what you say. I'm kinda looking at that combo of MOBO/PROC/Memory that you just threw up there, would be a good setup, at over a grand though, over my budget. I'd have to think of something, unless I could get my parents to split some of the cost for a x-mas gift. Might have to get something figured out here.

Say, shifty, what combo from eVGA do you think I should go with should I decide on them?
Oh yeah, and while I'm at it Shifty, what's the difference in AMD and Intel's processors?

I am not trying to say you're far behind, but you gotta understand - I gotta ask, man :) There is no way you can give me "too much info" - the more you tell me, the more I can tell you.

Ok, another lengthy post. I'm making these posts long on purpose so you understand as much as possible here, and hopefully you will see you have a lot of options. It's easier to have it handed to you by some tech guy on a forum, but ... I like it better when people can grasp why I'm suggesting what I'm suggesting and asking the questions I'm asking.

The differences between AMD and Intel right now are really outside the scope of this topic. I also don't want to start a flame war, because there is always someone jackass that will pop in and be like, "omfg, AMD is the best processor EVAR! lolz". Mostly people talking out their ass without any proof, evidence or in-depth technical knowledge to explain why.

Basically, in my opinion, bang versus buck, you can't beat the new Core 2 Duo processors by Intel (IMO, this just came to be the case in the last 45-60 days). The new Core 2 Duo chips have similar processing capabilities, but will run cooler and use a 65nm processor versus the 90nm processor used on the AMD X2/AM2 processors (AMD finally just released a 65nm processor officially a week or so ago, but it will be higher priced and may not hit the shelves will Q1 of next year).

More info: http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/12/05/amd_intros_65nm_cpus/

I realize that some of that stuff is a bit over-head. What you need to be concerned with is this:

Case = $75 for a great Antec case

New 750w PSU = $150-200 for somthing Thermaltake, Antec or otherwise

(my PSU advice: only get a "modular" PSU, or at least get one with black webbing around the wires)

Motherboard = eVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR is $250

RAM = 2x1GB for a reputable brand will run $150-300.

(my RAM advice: Get something low latency, latency numbers like 2-2-3-5 rather than 4-4-6-6 or similar ... lower latency is good for non-overclocked systems)

Processor = $500 for 2.66GHz C2D pentium, $300 for 2.4GHz C2D pentium, $225 for 2.13GHz C2D pentium, any will suit you well.

Video card: Go to NewEgg. Look at all video cards. Get something PCI-Express (16) that supports SLI, and buy two of them, then upgrade later.

(my vid card advice: two of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062 - by buying eVGA, if you keep the retail box, they will let you trade up for other cards within 6 months of purchase, but only if you pack in the original box and ship back to them - they will credit you the purchase prices towards your new cards - so, save up $250-300 and, 5 months from now, trade in these two cards, pay $300 more and get something four times as good.)

so for case and PSU = ~$200
mobo = $250
RAM = ~$200
Vid cards = ~$250
CPU (2.13 Conroe 65nm) = ~$225

Killer little SLI-based gaming rig for $1125. Need to bump down that to be in a better place budgetwise? The only place I would cut corners would be reusing your old case (-$75), maybe cut back to 2x512MB sticks on the RAM (-$75), and get 2 more later (4x512MB) or just totally upgrade to 4x1GB if you get Windows Vista later on. You might also consider going with a 600w PSU, but you really need something beefier because these SLI cards each require a dedicated power tap which is typically NOT found on older power supplies.

now, this is just my 2¢. i understand you're on a budget - i also hear you saying "i want a kickass, refreshed little gaming system". you've given me two things here: you want a kickass gaming system and you have a budget. i am giving you a suggestion that is a little more than your proposed budget and a little less than ultra-kickass - in other words, "it's a compromise".

i leaned more towards keeping you close to budget than close to ultra-kickass. i'll tell you thought, the system outlined above SHOULD be able to handle most new games. most of the new stuff coming out will benefit from:

* Dual core processor
* SLi video card setup (two cards in tandem process much more than just 1)
* 1GB-2GB of RAM, as a bare minimum (preferrably 2GB)
* A physics processor card (Google for "Ageia PhysX")

You have three of the four, and lots of room to upgrade.

PS - the same system from a company like Dell or Alienware (recently purchased by Dell) would be up around $2000. If you buy from the same place (Go to Newegg), you will get good and/or free shipping on several items, and you will pay less in shipping by ordering from a single place in a single order. Shipping should come out to less than $75, probably closer to $25-35. Depends on whether you get a case, I would think. You may or may not need to add tax.

not looking to buy something, I'm a custom guy when it comes to stuff like this. Anyways, I was looking to spend 8-900 bucks, but why the hell not, could just spend some extra cash and have something that's pretty up-to-date right now, and is still a kick ass gaming rig. I'm also thinking of updating the skins too, and just getting a new case, with at least a 6-700W PSU. I was looking into some cases, want something with a good PSU, but where the case still looks good. As for the stuff you suggested, I'll have to look into it good and heavy. Ever since I decided the other day to do this buildup, I've spent some time looking into various pieces, and have looked heavily into them. Have to keep looking hard.

okay, Shifty, what do you think about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003R

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817256006

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156060

1100 for that, not bad, plus another couple hundred for RAM, a little over budget, but it would be a good setup, right?

still haven't decided on what RAM to use. 2 gigs minimum, but which one??? so hard to choose, maybe you've got some suggestions for a cheap, but good RAM setup.

Everything looks great, except I don't like that case. It's cute, but read the reviews:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16811156060

Major complaints that will affect you:

* No removable motherboard tray makes installation harder on you, and motherboard tray is sharp enough to cut fingers...guess what it'll do to wires?
* Fan in front sucks on plastic, not air (this fan should cool your hard drives, so beware).
* Screwless drive clamps (Media drive connectors) are hard to use and don't work that well - sounds frustrating.
* Outside of case shows fingerprints easily.
* Case is ultra-lightweight, obviously destructible, and was damaged for one guy in shipping, which I've never seen with any other case.
* One user complains of "flimsy construction". That's not the kinda crap you wanna hear about a case. His 550w power supply was hanging at an angle...750w PSU will be heavier, imagine how far IT will hang down!

Bottom line: If good looks are more important to you than good functionality, then this is probably the case for you. When it comes to cases, you usually get what you pay for. Also, please note: Read "all reviews" on stuff at NewEgg. Consider the user's "experience level" when reading them - and understand a lot of people think they have "high" experience when they're really a novice.

I was one of those guys that always said, "I'll never pay $200 for a case!", then I went out and bought a Lian Li PC-V1000 Plus (Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112057) and I love it.

Let me poke around in the $60-125 range and see some cool options I can dig up. Anything Antec, Lian Li, Coolermaster, Thermaltake or Enermax, Enlight, Asus, Zalman or Silverstone should be a great case. These are all quality brands (although I have bought Enlight and Enermax cases I was not totally happy with).

$75-$100 range (sorted by rating): http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Order=RATING&Page=1&Category=9&N=2000090007+4027&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=7

$100-200 range (sorted by rating): http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2000090007+4017&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=7

The COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632-KKN1-GP looks pretty sweet. It gets exceptional reviews as well. I like the drive bracket system, and have used similar ones in the past.

Flip through the cases. Find some you like, if you'll post, I'll critique. Things I would look for:

* Removable motherboard tray.

* Either removable hard drive module/bay for easy install, or some kind of easy setup where you snap the hard drive into the bay.

* 120mm fans, at least one in front, one in back. Top vent and side vent is really optional, IMHO.

* External USB/Firewire/Audio ports, but be aware if you're going with an aftermarket sound card, there is a chance you can't use the mic/headphone jacks with your aftermarket sound card.

* Pay attention to the doors. Sometimes, motorized doors tend to fail or break in time. Pay attention to what way they swing open -left, right, middle? Will it work well where it's going?

* Pay attention to where the power buttons, USB/Firewire ports and other things are located outside the case - will it work well under your desk or wherever it's going?

Case material is not that important, don't buy an aluminum case just because you think it's going to be cooler. Also, it is important to move AIR through your case. A Wind tunnel works better to cool internals than having five million mesh holes and fans everywhere. I've seen non-aluminum cases with hardly any vents and a 120mm case fan in back and in front to pull air through cool even better than high-end alumunized cases with mesh, vents, windows and other crap everywhere.


By the way - Chieftec, Chenming and Apevia/Aspire both sell Antec case knockoffs. Essentially generic versions (or sometimes rebranded versions) of the same case.

hmm, looks like I picked the wrong one there (I swear that one was good, I looked at them before, I must have just picked the first one that kinda looked familiar, obviously some I were looking at was NOT that one)

anyways, for cases... which of these would you recommend, Shifty?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811166014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119107

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811196020

those are the ones I looked at the most, kinda like the designs of all of them, but function is greater than image. any input?

By the way - Chieftec, Chenming and Apevia/Aspire both sell Antec case knockoffs. Essentially generic versions (or sometimes rebranded versions) of the same case.

Ive put around 14 PCs together for friends and family and 90% of the time I use an Aspire case. The one I have had for a few years now is an aluminum full tower with 5 fans, plenty of room, good looks and very user friendly. You can spend more and you can spend less but the Aspire cases seem to be a happy middle ground. Sry for sticking my nose in...again.;)

Ive put around 14 PCs together for friends and family and 90% of the time I use an Aspire case. The one I have had for a few years now is an aluminum full tower with 5 fans, plenty of room, good looks and very user friendly. You can spend more and you can spend less but the Aspire cases seem to be a happy middle ground. Sry for sticking my nose in...again.;)

which one was that, the Aspire case?

while I'm looking at Aspire cases... what do you think of this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144090

The Aspire case you just linked up is nice - you would like it. It's a knockoff of the Antec SoHo 1000-series cases, but with a different plastic body around the frame. It uses removeable hard drive bays (each of the lower 3 bays has a lever at the top to disengage it so you can pull it out, install your drive, then reinstall, very handy). The upper drives will use the clear blue quick-install pieces which allow you to slide the CDROM and other drives in till they snap - easy removal. Basically, this means you don't need to pull both sides of the case off to do any of the install. The one serious downfall: No removable motherboard tray. Minor downfall: only uses 80mm fans, not 120mm (80mm = more noise). You'd be best to get some Antec 80mm temperature sensitive fans that will increase in speed when the temp sensor senses more heat. (BTW - this case design is really old, it's been used for at least 6-7 years now, here is a link to one of the originals so you can see that Aspire is using Antec's skeleton: http://www.elektrik-sheep.com/reviews/antec/sx1040B.shtml -- lots of good review in this article, read it!! -- and here is the updated version of this skeleton from Antec which uses larger fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129158 )

About the other three cases:

The Sunbeam "transformer" case looks a little generic, but overall has a good design. Uses the quick-install feature for hard drives and the CDROM and floppy drives also. Nice layout, large fans. Looks like good bang-for-the-buck if you ask me. Pretty good reviews to boot. I don't like the look of it myself, but ... you can mod it to look any way you want.

The Coolermaster Mystique. Two things: will the ports being on top bug you? Will the way/direction the door opens bother you? Something to think about. The direct port on the side of the case to pull heat off the CPU is a good idea. This case also uses quick-release drive bays, which makes installation easier for you. No removeable mobo tray, but uses 120mm fans. As a point of note, you might need/want to get power adapters. I've been told several times that it's generally a bad idea to hook a 120mm fan directly to a fan header on a mobo, but never bothered to ask why that is (too much draw/load?). Notice in the reviews that people say the stock 120mm fans seem a little weak. This is OK, and you should expect that this will happen with any sub-$100 case. I love the 120mm Antec variable fans (adjust based on heat). Be sure to read "all reviews", as with the others. Pay close attn to the "Cons", and the "Other comments". I mean, look at the good stuff also, but ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16811119107

As for the Aero Cool case....I see it gets good reviews, but I would not buy this case for one reason alone: The drive bays are riveted to the freaking case. You can't remove them, and there are no easy-install brackets for your drives. Super lame. I will give them this, though: That is a super innovative and tasteful way to conceal the floppy drive bay! I also like that they only include one bay for the floppy. (I can't always be negative nelly!). Read all reviews - pay special attention to the Cons! http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16811196020 -- some are of concern. Flimsy mobo tray. Pieces snap off easy. One thing to note: MORE fans does not mean better like one of the jackasses reviewing said. Two fans with a good wind tunnel effect will blow away 3 120mm fans with a bullethole-ridden case. Also - "No manual with case". Have fun figuring out anything you have questions with!

I like all of them but the last one. I guess you don't get removable motherboard trays unless you purchase something costing around $150 or more. Kinda sucks. Removable mobo tray and easy-install drive setups make installation a snap. Toss a full system together and have it ready for software/OS install in less than 30 minutes (and this is w/taking your time!)

hmm, hard to decide on cases, I want to stay under 100-150 range... but still get something good.... GAH!!

and on another note... I'd kinda like to go with AMD, rather than Intel, but idk... my buddy who will probably help me build my comp HATES Intel processors, says they run too hot, etc etc. Any advice on this topic?

Yes.

Sorry, but I think your friend may be a bandwagoning idiot, the type of person I just described in previous posts :D

The Intel Core Duo has been proven to not only run COOLER and to use LESS VOLTAGE. He is stuck in the past, as most people are who do NOT follow current events.

Go ask your friend how it's possible for a 65nm processor to run cooler than a 90nm processor. If he can't answer that question realistically, he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. If he doesn't know what that nanometer reference is dealing with, he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about :)

The "Intel runs hotter" BS was true about 3 years ago when Prescott core came out (Northwood core was cool, Prescott ended up being hot as hell).

You're welcome to do whatever your want, and I hate to tell you your buddy is full of crap, but ... :) I don't know what else to say.

Case is not hard to pick. Motherboard tray removal is not necessary. You have three great cases you've picked up there. Choose one! :D

Just as an FYI on the processor (Intel vs AMD) argument, read this:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=52271

It will explain the answer your friend SHOULD give you if he knows what he's talking about. It also gives LOTS of other info you should know before you make this choice.

I will tell you this: There is no room in the computer building world for people to be brand-loyal when it comes to processors, and, sadly, it's something that happens all the time. A good idea when it comes to people claiming that "X processor is better than Y processor" is to ask them to provide factual data on the processor structure and what makes it better, then go research it on the web.

In case you need some more weight to add to my suggestion:

http://myunreal.com/showthread.php?t=76209

There's a thread with similar question, answered by a half dozen geeks who focus primarily on building power rigs for hardcore gaming.

Not trying to beat your friend up here, but this just goes to show you that there is no room in this business for brand loyalty, nor for people to bandwagon on brands. I would estimate that 90% of any suggestions you'll hear from friends or people who claim they know a lot about this stuff are completely opinion and not based in any realm of fact. Trying to find a close-knit bunch of guys who build systems for a living and really know what they're talking about is a real pain in the ass.

I hope you made the more powerful choice and bought intel on your rig.

I think the computer build up idea went to toast...not quite enough cash from the bonus, and I didn't want to spend the extra money I have saved to build one...

but look on the bright side, I've got a cheap snowmobile (100 buckaroos! haha) my Odyssey kinda going, and I am looking at a 69 shortbox stepside 4WD truck for cheap. Buying all of them would still equal less than the computer.... haha

Pictures! Pictures! :d

Pictures! Pictures! :d

haha! you know I'll post pics and gloat a little if I do get it. (shortbox stepside 4WD? 69 even! you kiddin me, of course I'll show it off, I'll be so damned happy if I get it!!) To be honest, I've never even seen it yet. I guess it's in primer, and not too bad of shape. I'll have to see, I guess.